The gravure industry does not have an inexpensive tester which can accurately
predict the behavior of paper on a gravure press. The most acceptable tester
currently available is the Parker Print Surf.
A "conformity" tester, based on compression of paper into a thin channel, was
designed and built. It was compared to the Parker Print Surf and found to be poorer
in predicting ability except in the special case of groundwood papers. More study is
necessary.
Several unusual techniques were used. The first involved running sheets of
paper through a web press. This technique had a slight "leading" sample distortion
problem. The second involved a new method for designating the skipped dot count
of a paper sample. This technique was based on finding the darkest step of a 16 step
gray scale which had three skipped dots. It was superior to the traditional method of
designating skipped dots in terms of data collection and data analysis.